Pat Kelsey addresses public outrage for him winning ACC Coach of the Year over Jon Scheyer

Pat Kelsey won ACC Coach of the Year in his first season in the conference after leading Louisville to a 25-6 record overall, and an 18-2 record against conference play. However, there was some pushback on social media after he won the honor.

Some fanbases believe their coach should have won the award over Kelsey, but in the end the Cardinals headman earned the nod after turning Louisville into a contender in the ACC. The Louisville head coach explained his perspective on the controversy earlier this week during the conference tournament.

“No. I don’t pay any attention,” Kelsey said after Louisville’s ACC Tournament quarterfinal win on Thursday. “Obviously, there’s a bunch of coaches in this league, several that could have very, very, very easily won that award. My mom did send me the one little graphic that, I think it was Duke sent out, but I read all the stuff that they had on there, and I was like, holy crap, that’s pretty impressive, maybe he should have won it.”

Kelsey is referring to Duke’s social media releasing a graphic pointing out all the reasons why this head coach, Jon Scheyer, should have been considered ACC Coach of the Year. The stats went well beyond Duke’s 19-1 record agianst ACC competition, and its likely No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

However, the decision for Kelsey to win the honor came after he took over a program that had suffered two of its worst seasons in recent memory. Having won just 12 games across both campaigns, Kelsey would go on to lead Louisville to 18 wins in the ACC alone, cementing his status as conference coach of the year.

“I don’t know. Those don’t matter. All that matters is fighting with this team to try to win a championship,” Kelsey continued. “We’re very fortunate to advance, survive and advance is what they say in tournament play, and we’re fortunate to do it.

“Excited to find out who we’re playing. It’ll be a sleepless night, but it’ll be complete adrenaline. This is the most fun time of the year. March is college basketball time. College basketball lovers all over America saw a thriller tonight, and again, we’re fortunate to advance.”

Kelsey’s comments came after the Cardinals defeated Stanford in the quarterfinals. They have since advanced to the championship game against Duke after defeating Clemson 76-73 in the semifinal on Friday. Tip-off between Louisville and Duke is set for 8:30 p.m. ET live on ESPN.